Wilbur Dartnell

William Thomas Dartnell, VC (6 April 1885 – 3 September 1915), also known as Wilbur Taylor Dartnell, was an Australian-born soldier, actor and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Born in Melbourne, he served in the Second Boer War as a teenager and later in the Bambatha Rebellion of 1906. He married, managed his own business and worked as a professional actor before immigrating to South Africa in 1912 or 1913.

Dartnell offered his services to the British Army on the outbreak of the First World War, and was commissioned into the 25th (Frontiersmen) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers in February 1915. He fought in the East African Campaign and was mentioned in despatches for the Battle of Bukoba, where he had stormed the German-held town hall, pulled down the German flag and replaced it with the Union Jack. On 3 September 1915, after his company had been ambushed and despite being wounded, Dartnell voluntarily stayed behind in an attempt to save the lives of wounded men as the remainder of the British force retired from the scene. Dartnell was killed in the attempt, but in recognition of his determination and sacrifice he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

Early life William Thomas Dartnell was born in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood on 6 April 1885 to Henry Dartnell, an English-born fruiterer, and his Australian wife Rose Ann (née Hanley).#tag:ref|There is a slight discrepancy between sources regarding Dartnell's place of birth. Several place it at Collingwood, while others record the neighbouring suburb of Fitzroy. This article uses Collingwood as it is the location noted in Dartnell's Australian Dictionary of Biography entry. In 1900, at the age of 15, Dartnell joined the Victorian Mounted Rifles, a part-time colonial militia unit. The regiment was mobilised as the 5th Victorian (Mounted Rifles) Contingent in early 1901 for service in the Second Boer War, and embarked for South Africa on 15 February. Arriving in Port Elizabeth the following month, Dartnell saw service in the Cape Colony and Orange Free State over the next twelve months and was wounded on 6 April—his 16th birthday. The Mounted Rifles returned to Australia in March 1902, and Dartnell was demobilised soon thereafter. He later returned to South Africa, and served as part of Royston's Horse during the Bambatha Rebellion in Natal in 1906.

After he returned to Australia, Dartnell married Elizabeth Edith Smyth on 15 April 1907 at Holt's Matrimonial Agency on Queen Street, Melbourne. They settled in Fitzroy, and had a daughter in 1908. Little is known about Dartnell's life over the next few years, though it is thought that he managed his own business and worked as an actor until 1912 or 1913, when he again departed for South Africa. Elizabeth and their daughter remained in Victoria, while Dartnell established himself in East London, a coastal city in the Cape Province. He found employment with the Standard Printing Company, and was a regular contributor to their Saturday newspaper, the Weekly Standard. As the "Frontiersmen" designation may suggest, the 25th Battalion "included men of various ages and with strange experience from all quarters of the globe", according to the regimental history. The 25th embarked from Plymouth for Mombasa on 10 April, less than two months after it had been raised. Dartnell had spent the intervening time stationed in Swaythling, and had made a number of trips to Belgium ferrying drafts of artillery horses to the Western Front. In June, Dartnell took part in the attack on the German fort and wireless station at Bukoba; the base for German raids on the Ugandan frontier. The British and German forces wrested for control of the town for two days before the raiding party was able to seize the wireless station and town hall. In the final assault, Dartnell had been the first to enter the German-held town hall, and had hauled down the German flag to replace it with the Union Jack. He was, however, promoted to temporary lieutenant on 25 July. Though twice instructed to leave, Dartnell refused and gave the order for his men to abandon him. Dartnell was last seen firing on the German troops, who were within of his position. When his body was recovered several hours later, it was surrounded by seven dead German soldiers.

Legacy alt=Full-length studio portrait of a young man in khaki military uniform. He has a broad brim hat on, and is holding a riding crop. Dartnell's determination and sacrifice during his last battle was posthumously recognised with the award of the Victoria Cross (VC).

Dartnell was one of four personnel to receive the VC in the East African Campaign. His military effects were sold off in October and the proceeds sent to his fiancée Mabel, whom Dartnell had named in his will but the funds were later claimed by his widow. Elizabeth, who was living with her daughter in the Melbourne suburb of Murrumbeena at the time, later named her house "Maktau" after the place of her husband's actions and death, and was later invited to the VC centenary celebrations in London in 1956.

Dartnell's status as a professional actor was not forgotten. Several newspaper reports after his death postulated whether his VC was the first awarded to an actor, and he is commemorated on a plaque in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Dartnell Street in Canberra is also named for him, where they are displayed in the Hall of Valour.